Many public washrooms have one or more recessed towel dispenser/waste receptacle units, made of stainless steel, built into the walls. The upper section of the recessed unit houses a towel dispenser cabinet capable of holding a large supply of folded paper towels. Typically, the towel dispenser unit has a front door which is capable of being locked. The lower section of the recessed unit houses a removable waste receptacle into which used paper towels can be deposited. A central portion of the recessed unit, between the bottom of the towel dispenser and the top of the waste receptacle, is recessed to make it convenient for patrons to deposit used paper towels into the waste receptacle.
Some owners of recessed folded towel dispenser units desire to have a roll towel dispenser to either supplement or replace the supply of folded towels. If the roll towel dispenser is being used to replace the source of folded towels, it would be very convenient to mount the roll towel dispenser over the door of the folded towel cabinet section of the recessed unit. While these roll towel dispensers are typically designed to be fastened to a wall by means of screws, the owner of a recessed unit is reluctant to drill holes into the door of the recessed folded towel cabinet to accommodate either screws or bolts for fastening the roll towel dispenser to the door of the recessed wall cabinet. Two reasons for that reluctance are: (1) if it is later desired to remove the roll towel dispenser and return to using folded towels, unsightly holes would remain in the cabinet door of the recessed unit; and, (2) drilling holes in the door of the recessed cabinet may leave burrs in the inside surface of the door which may tear or impede the flow of folded towels down through the interior of the folded towel cabinet. Thus, it is very desirable to mount the roll towel dispenser on the door of the recessed folded towel cabinet by means that will not require holes in the door of the recessed unit.
Although it would be possible to use an adhesive to bond the rear panel of the roll towel dispenser to the door of the recessed folded towel cabinet, the possibility that the adhesive might fail would preclude use of an adhesive as the sole means for supporting the roll towel dispenser.
It is known in the prior art to use a bracket which has a hooked end portion that can fit over the top of a wall and which does not require screws of bolts to secure the bracket to the wall as the sole means for mounting or supporting articles. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,518,328-Janonis and 2,673,693-Gray both disclose holders for a roll of bathroom tissue in which the holder has a hooked end portion that fits over the top edge of a wall of a water closet flushing tank. U.S. Design Pat. No. 176,703-Snively discloses a holder for a bathroom tissue roll in which the holder has a hooked end portion which is suitable for being placed over the top edge of a wall member. U.S. Pat. No. 2,743,023-Larson discloses a clothes hanger which is secured to a bracket which has a hooked end portion that clamps over the top edge of a door. The Larson patent also discloses that the bracket can be secured to the door by means of screws as shown in FIGS. 7, 8, and 9. It is not desirable to use a bracket with a hooked end portion as the sole means for securing a roll towel dispenser, which when fully loaded weighs approximately 11 lbs., to the door of a recessed folded towel cabinet. For example, when the bracket and roll towel dispenser cabinet is installed and is in normal use, because of the rather large lever arm from the bottom of the roll towel dispenser to the hooked portion of the bracket, pulling forward on the bottom of the roll towel dispenser can cause the bracket to bend out of its normal shape and to possibly present an unsafe condition when the door of the recessed cabinet is opened. Therefore, it has been found to be desirable to stablize or prevent relative motion of the bracket and roll towel dispenser cabinet assembly with respect to the door. The stabilizing means also promotes a safe installation by preventing the bracket and roll towel dispenser assembly from sliding off of the door of the recessed unit.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,168,275-Grondin and 3,733,044-Rabner both disclose holders for boxes of facial tissues in which pressure sensitive adhesive is the sole means of securing the holder to a wall. While pressure sensitive adhesive material can adequately support a relatively lightweight holder and package such as a box of facial tissues, it would not be adequate as the sole means of support for a roll towel dispenser which typically weighs about 11 lbs. and which on occasion is subjected to abuse.